Ask anyone — say, someone living in the 20th or 21st century — how many continents there are, and the answer will almost always be seven. A continent, by convention, is a large continuous mass of land ideally separated by water. That is what we have always known. If you were asked to name them, you would list Australia, Asia, Antarctica, Africa, Europe, North America, and South America. Right? It is the kind of answer we memorized in school and never really stopped to second-guess.
But what if there is more than that? A recent discovery points to the fact that there may indeed be more than seven continents. There is a hidden treasure of land lying underwater beneath the Pacific Ocean, still waiting for full exploration.
One Continent That Split Apart
To understand it, we first have to remember that all the continents were once a single landmass called Pangaea, which began breaking apart about 200 million years ago due to tectonic shift. Tectonic plates, if you are unfamiliar, are massive, irregularly shaped slabs of rock ranging in size from hundreds to thousands of kilometers, which together make up the Earth's crust.
Technically, the continent in question was confirmed in 2017, though evidence of its presence existed 300 or more years before that. More than 90 percent of it is covered in water. And although it was only fully confirmed in 2017, hints of what was to come go back to the 1650s, when Dutch explorer Abel Tasman's voyage into the southern hemisphere gave an account of something out there.
What is visible of it has a very familiar name, and you can probably connect the dots already. Does the word "New Zealand" ring a bell?
Meet Zealandia
Spanning around 4.9 million square kilometers, this new continent is called Zealandia. It was once part of an ancient supercontinent known as Gondwana Land. Alongside New Zealand, other small visible places include New Caledonia and more. The term "Zealandia" itself was coined by American geophysicist Bruce Luyendyk, who used it collectively to refer to New Zealand, New Caledonia, the Chatham Rise, the Campbell plateau, and the area around them.
Such is the enormity of what remains unknown that it continues to challenge geologists analyzing the whole area. But while the exploration goes on, how about welcoming the newest addition to the continent family?
Continents on the Move
It is still said that the continents continue to drift because tectonic shift keeps happening, driven by heat generated from radioactive processes within the Earth's interior. There are even reports that the continents could eventually merge back together at the equator, possibly in around 250 million years, a future supercontinent dubbed Pangea Ultima. It could be a doomsday for all species, including us humans. But we still have some time before that — and maybe we will have found somewhere else to live by then, space travel anyone?
Coming back to Zealandia: it may be the smallest of the continents, though it is still larger than the whole Indian subcontinent. But it is a continent all the same. We should not discard it the way Pluto was discarded. Ouch — did that touch a sore spot? Do you know why Pluto is no longer considered a planet? Find out why Pluto is no longer a planet.
Until next time, stay curious. And the next time someone tells you how many continents there are, maybe think twice — the map beneath the waves still has secrets left to give.